


Caught

by IcewindDragon



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Based on a roleplay, Blood, Death, Descarus is Winter fae, Gen, Isdemus is Autumn fae, M/M, Torture, being forced to kill loved one, which is based on Through the Looking Glass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 02:25:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2411531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcewindDragon/pseuds/IcewindDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Descarus, the eldest Prince of the Winter Court, has been keeping his relationship with Isdemus, the heir of the Autumn Court, a secret, but what happens when Queen Lilith finds out just what her son has been up to behind her back?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caught

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nameless_bliss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nameless_bliss/gifts).



> So this is mostly just a 'test the waters' kind of thing. I'm mostly posting this to see if anyone else would have any interest in reading some of my stuff.

“It has increasingly come to my attention that my son is disappearing for hours at a time. Follow him. Find out where he is spending his time.” 

The spy was now heeding his Queen’s words, following the crown Prince of the Winter Court. He’d been tailing him for several hours now, and even as he watched the royal disappear in a flurry of snow, he could still follow after. He could track energy signatures even through teleportation. It was what made him so valuable.

He followed after, and couldn’t help the surprise he felt when he realized he had followed Descarus to the Autumn Court. He nearly gave his position away then when he saw the Autumn Prince come from around a corner. “I thought he was dead,” he mused, eyes widening further when the Autumn and Winter fae embraced each other. “That was more than just a friendly embrace…” he realized.

He knew he had enough evidence to take to the Queen, but he figured, the more he had, the better it would be. So he crept towards the room the other two had disappeared into and listened. For over an hour, he listened, and he knew exactly what they were doing. He vanished then, returning to his own court to report what he had discovered.  
*  
Once Descarus returned home, he found himself face to face with his mother. “Oh, Mother, good afternoon,” he greeted politely. He wasn’t expecting this. Usually he rarely saw his mother, much less her speaking to him first.

“Did you think we would not find out? Did you think I do not know everything that occurs in my Court?” Queen Lilith practically hissed.

“Mother? I do not…” Descarus began, only to be cut off.

“Descarus. I know what you have been doing. There are witnesses.”

Descarus instantly felt a dump of adrenaline through his body as it prepared to either fight or flee. Before he had a chance to act on any instincts, most that were telling him to run, the two strongest guards of the court were beside him, each gripping an arm. He tried to struggle, fear causing his heart to pound, but they pulled and twisted so that his arms were behind his back and then yanked up harshly. There was a loud pop as one of his shoulders was popped out of socket, and a guard kicked the back of his legs so that he fell harshly to his knees.

His mother was standing in front of him, her fingers gripping his face, nails digging into skin. He was panting harshly, pain lancing through his body from his dislocated shoulder. “Why sweetheart, you look uncomfortable,” she cooed to her first-born. “Wonderful. Take him down to the dungeon. Do not let him out of your sights. I have a few preparations to make. Send word to the Court! The Dark Court as well! His betrayal shall be made public!” She shouted, her messengers scrambling to follow her orders.  
Descarus continued to strain against the guards as he was dragged down the corridor, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. He had to escape. Not only for himself, but, he couldn’t bring anything down on Isdemus because of this. His mother knew about them. If he could get away, then he could at least warn the other.

He let his powers flare then, ice and cold flooding out of him, a desperate attempt to escape. The two guards yelped and he felt them release him in surprise. Descarus had always been powerful, even compared to others with the same title as him, he was strong. The instant he felt their hands leave his skin, he pressed his feet to the floor and started running. He just had to get far enough away from them to teleport, which he was hoping would buy him some time.

He heard shouting as he sprinted down the corridor, and then, over the sound of his own feet on the ice floor, and his pounding heart, he heard a high whining sound. He altered his path enough to avoid the first arrow as it flew by him, but his distraction with the first caused him to miss the presence of the second, and it managed to imbed itself into his lower back, a few inches from his spine. 

Descarus didn’t take the time to acknowledge the injury, just kept sprinting, stopping just long enough to teleport, disappearing in a violent burst of snow.

When his feet touched solid floor again in the Autumn Court he released a loud cry of pain and instantly collapsed onto his knees. He hoped against hope that he was in, or at least near, Isdemus’ room, since he couldn’t completely control his travel path, and he wasn’t sure how much movement he could manage. He bent further, pressing his hands to the floor, feeling blood flowing from the arrow wound, and another sound of pain fell from his lips.  
*  
Isdemus was woken from a doze to the feeling of a sharp stab in his back. He rolled slightly so he could rub it gently, assuming it was one of his old injuries flaring. It happened occasionally. He rubbed at it for a few moments, and then heard a cry of pain coming from the other room that caught his attention. “Well that is not a common noise around here,” he mused as he rose to investigate. 

When he rounded into the next room, and felt horror wash through him when he saw Descarus hunched over on the floor, an arrow made of ice protruding from his back, glittering innocently in the light.

“Descarus! Shit! What happened?!” He exclaimed, instantly at his side. 

The Winter fae had to work for a few moments to find his voice, swallowing around his pain. “My… my mother… she found out… about us…” he finally managed, “We… need to get out of here…” 

This took Isdemus a few seconds to process, blinking in shock. His soldier-mode kicked in then, and he forced himself to calm; his first priority had to be Descarus’ injury, especially since it was still bleeding profusely.

“Shh. Shh, it’s okay. It’s not your fault she found out. Let’s just get this taken care of,” he soothed, briefly touching his back near the wound, “And then we’ll figure out what to do.”

“We don’t have time right now. I’ll live with this. But we have to go. My mother… she said something about public display. We need to go,” Descarus insisted, forcing his pain back and attempting to stand. A thin sound escaped him then, but he ignored it.

Isdemus sighed, knowing there was no fighting him in this, and he was likely right anyway. “At least hold still for a moment…” he reached carefully, heating his fingertips so he could melt the shaft of the arrow off. “There, was that so hard?” He quirked. 

“I guess not,” Descarus managed to smile at him, “Now can we get the hell out of here? This is the first place they’ll look, so we need to go,” he whined again in pain then as he turned, remembering that his shoulder was dislocated.

“You were barely gone a half an hour and she managed to injure you twice?” Isdemus said, coming over to him. He knew Queen Lilith was known for being ruthless, but he was slightly surprised she went to this level against her own son. “Take a deep breath,” he encouraged, before he reached up and swiftly popped the shoulder back into the socket.

Descarus hissed in pain, and then sighed in relief, giving the other a grateful smile. “I’m sorry. I brought this down on you. I should have been more careful. I don’t know how she found out, but… I’m sorry…” he was cut off when Isdemus kissed him gently.

“Shh, anam cara. I told you. It’s not your fault. We’ll figure it out. In all fairness, they should not even come here unless it be seen as an act of war.”

“Now, tell me Autumn Prince. What army does your court possess that could even withstand a small battle?”

Descarus froze, and Isdemus, out of instinct, immediately moved into a more protective stance. “Queen Lilith,” he spoke coolly, “I do not believe you are here on invitation. I am afraid I shall have to ask you to leave.”

“Still so polite. I always did like that about you. It is so good to see that all that time you were imprisoned didn’t knock that out of you.” Lilith answered smoothly.

“You knew about that?!” Descarus shouted before he could stop himself. After Isdemus had disappeared, he’d looked for him for months before he was forced to accept that he was likely dead. There wasn’t a day that went by now that he was glad he was wrong on that one.

Lilith’s eyes narrowed at her son’s outburst. “This has been going on for quite some time.” She realized.

Descarus couldn’t help the smirk that crawled onto his face, but he said nothing else, and his mother only glared more harshly at him.

“I will make this very simple for the two of you. You can stand aside and I will take that traitor back to my court to be dealt with accordingly,” she paused for a moment, “Or you can continue to defy me, and you will both pay the consequences.”

Descarus startled in panic then. He had no idea his mother was so upset by all this, but he knew he could not let Isdemus get any more involved than he already was. “Mother, I do not understand the level of your reaction to this, but please, I will give up my crown, my place in the Court. You will never need to see or hear of me again. Just please, leave us be,” he tried to plead with her. He moved to step out around the Autumn fae, only to have him wrap his hand around his arm, shaking his head minutely. 

She only sneered at him. “Why, son, don’t you know you can’t give something that’s already been taken? The moment your betrayal was known, I stripped you of your crown. Just as I did to your brother. Now, I was generous enough to give you a choice.” 

Descarus felt the grip Isdemus had on his arm tighten slightly, and he looked over to him out of the corner of his eye. His brown eyes were hard, he was ready to fight. “Isdemus…Elskede... no. I won’t drag you into this anymore than you already are. I’ll just surrender myself. It’ll be okay.”

“Descarus, quiet. I am not stepping aside and simply letting them take you,” Isdemus hissed to him, pulling him back again.

“Well, then you two have made your choice. Seize them both!” Lilith shouted, and then the room exploded with movement. Two of the guards she had brought with her shot streams of ice at them, and Descarus quickly stepped forward and intercepted them with a crudely made shield. The blasts shattered it, but it did it’s job of blocking the attack. He was aware then that the arrow wound in his back had started bleeding more, the arrowhead having likely melted now, but he chose to ignore that.

Isdemus had managed to knock out two guards, but Descarus had had enough of simply knocking them back, and had formed a sword of ice and had started cutting them down. He’d managed to kill one, and injure another, when his mother personally launched a blast of ice at him, and it collided with the side of his head. The blow stunned him, and then another guard knocked him onto the ground before kicking him hard in the chest, a clear signal that he should not attempt to stand again.

Descarus wheezed in air, and then coughed harshly, grimacing when he tasted blood. He struggled to catch his breath, but tried to roll over to get up when he looked up and saw another arrow pointed at him, aimed directly at his chest. He froze, knowing if it was fired from that distance, he would be dead instantly. “Do you understand now Son?” his mother said, walking towards where he was splayed on the ground on his back. “You won’t win this.” 

Isdemus noticed then the position Descarus was in, and immediately began to move towards him to help, when the Winter Queen turned her attention to him. “Now, I wouldn’t do anything hasty if I were you. If you do not value his life,” she said, motioning to Descarus, “then perhaps you value the life of your dear little sister. I know she is here somewhere. I cannot imagine it would be too terribly difficult to find her, and then to take her by surprise.” She looked at her fingernails as she spoke, as if she weren’t talking about murder.

At the threat to his sister, Isdemus instantly stopped, fear pounding hard through his body. Ellesah… 

Guards took the momentary pause in his movements to seize him and force him to his knees. The arrow aimed at Descarus’ heart was removed and he was hauled upright, mostly supported by the guards holding him up. He was still wheezing for air, his head spinning after taking the blow to his skull.

“Descarus, are you alright?” Isdemus couldn’t help but ask, concern spiking in him.

“Oh yeah, just great…” the Winter fae responded, breathless. His head was hanging forward against his chest, his breathing shallow. He coughed harshly once, and groaned quietly, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. “Few cracked ribs, a concussion, oh, and that arrow wound that is still bleeding. So yeah, just great.”

Isdemus was actually a little relieved that Descarus still had sarcasm in him, things weren’t so bad yet if he could still manage to be sarcastic.

Lilith approached her son then, tipping his head back to stare into his eyes. “Did you honestly expect that you would escape from me? I am the best that there is. Nothing escapes my attention in my Court.”

“Is that so Mother?” Descarus responded, forcing the pain out of his voice so that she wouldn’t know how much of it he was in. “Because if that were the case, then how have we been doing this without your knowledge since before Isdemus was captured in battle well over twenty years ago?” he smirked at his mother, his blue eyes glinting in challenge.

Isdemus couldn’t help but stare at the other fae. Did he not understand that now was decidedly not the time to be letting his mouth lead his brain? He had the worst urge just then to smack the other for being foolish enough to mouth off to his mother. How many times had he exclaimed that his mouth was going to get him in trouble? He was pulled out of his thoughts when the sharp sound of a slap echoed through the room, and he looked up.

Lilith’s hand was raised still, ready to slap her eldest again. She had slapped him so hard that his head had snapped sideways from the force, and he was blinking the blackness from his vision. His head was still swimming from when he’d taken the hit from the ice, and this certainly had not helped. He could feel the heat in his cheek from where she had struck him, but he slowly turned his head back and tilted it up to look at her, blood still trailing from his mouth. He spit some of it out before he spoke again.

“Struck a nerve did I? Not only were you unaware of what I was doing, but what about Darren? He was actively working against you and Father, meeting with the younger royals from the other courts, aiming to retake power and fix the balance of the world that you and the Dark Court made a complete mess of. And he was nowhere near as careful as I was. There were so many signs if you were paying attention. I saw them right away.”

This earned him a second slap. “Take them back to the Court. I want him strung up on the platform. He will serve as an excellent message that betrayal will not be tolerated, and that it will be dealt with swiftly and completely. No exceptions.”

Descarus jolted at that, his head whipping up to stare at his mother in horror. His eyes flicked to Isdemus, who was staring at him in concern. He could practically smell the Winter Prince’s fear in the air, and he wasn’t quite sure what it meant, only that Descarus was absolutely terrified by it. He had good reason to be; he’d seen enough prisoners tortured there to know that once strung up, you didn’t normally leave it alive.

He jerked hard against his captors’ grips, testing to see if he could even attempt to pull away. Their grip was tight, and when he struggled, one of them punched him in the side, almost directly over where he’d been kicked, and he let out a loud gasp of pain. He was almost positive now that at least one rib was broken. Despite that, he pulled weakly again, clearly terrified.

“Descarus. Descarus, hey look at me. Just, easy. It’s okay. Things will be okay. It’s all right,” Isdemus soothed, trying to calm the other. Descarus looked at him, his blue eyes wide, obviously in pain and scared. He had never seen the Winter fae in fear before, and it left him deeply unsettled, but he ignored his own feelings in favor of trying to calm the other. He still didn’t understand the full weight of the situation, but it was obvious that Descarus did, and he knew it was likely a lie to say it, but he couldn’t help it. “It’s going to be okay.” 

“Oh, Autumn Prince, you are very wrong on that aspect,” Lilith cooed, not looking at him, her attention still focused on her son. She was stroking his cheek, almost in a loving gesture, and Descarus still tilted his head to glare at her.

“Alright. You captured me. Congratulations. You can let him go now,” He said, tilting his head to indicate that he meant Isdemus. He was still managing sarcasm, despite the fact that he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, mostly from fear.

“It is simply charming how you still continue to open your mouth and make this worse for yourself. Normally I would praise that attitude of yours, but even you, dense though you are, must understand the predicament that you have found yourself in. And for what? A bedmate? Really Descarus,” she sighed, “if you needed to sate yourself, there were so many in the Court that would have been more than happy.” 

At this, everything clicked into place for Descarus, and he couldn’t help but stare at his mother in shock. “That’s what it is, isn’t it,” he whispered, “You are not upset with me for betraying the Court, not really at least. You are upset because I was with him, an Autumn fae, because you feel that anyone other than Winter fae are beneath us. Because you are not sure I have actually told him any of our secrets like you know Darren has, but this is far more personal for you. I have made you look bad. And you cannot stand that.” 

Lilith was about to verbally put her son in his place, but Descarus wasn’t done. “You know what Mother, I am not even sorry. But you have me now, you can do what you like to me. Let Isdemus alone.” 

At this, she laughed, the bell-like quality far too musical for her cruel disposition. “I am afraid I can’t do that my son, because the moment we leave, taking you with us, he will no doubt find a way to mount a rescue for you. And we can’t have that, can we. So no, he will be coming with us, and he shall watch the example we make of you, and he will understand that there is not anything he can do to help you,” she patted his cheek, laughing again at the look of absolute horror on his face before she finally stepped away from him.

Descarus turned to look at Isdemus, and the Autumn Prince instantly wanted to wipe away the haunted expression he saw there. He made sure that his own expression was exuding nothing but calmness, knowing that he couldn’t show the other how panicked he himself was, or Descarus would likely do something truly desperate.

“Alright. That is enough of this. Take them back to the Court. String this one up,” Lilith said, indicating Descarus, and then pointed at Isdemus, “and chain that one so he cannot escape.” 

Descarus tried one last weak pull against the grip he was in, but now that his adrenaline had run out, the last hour was catching up to him. ‘Has it really been only an hour?’ he wondered in a fog. His head was pounding, he couldn’t breathe properly, and absently realized that he probably had a partially collapsed lung, and the arrow wound on his back was still bleeding freely. On other fae, wounds could be iced over to stop bleeding, but Winter fae had anti-freezing qualities in their own blood because of their environment and magic, so the only way to fix injuries for them was to go to a healer.

Isdemus looked over, and saw that Descarus looked pale, more so than usual. “Descarus? Hey, no, don’t lose consciousness. Look at me. Whatever happens, keep your eyes on me, alright?” he said to him, lacing command into it to get him to pay attention. Descarus tried to nod, but tipped into blackness mid movement, his body unable to handle any more.  
*  
When he came to, he knew he was back in the Winter Court. He could feel it in the air around him before he even had to open his eyes. Descarus also knew he hadn’t been unconscious that long, no more than a few minutes, but it was long enough for them to return to the Court, and for him to get strung up on the platform. He could feel hard wood under his knees, and his arms were chained and spread upward, the metal from the manacles biting into the skin on his wrists.

He slowly opened his eyes to see one of the largest gatherings of fae he had seen since his parents joined with the Dark Court. Almost the entirety of the Winter Court, and a good portion of the Dark Court had gathered in the Courtyard before the elevated platform the Prince was now displayed on. He scanned the crowd, seeing faces he recognized, but no one he actually could identify.

“Ah, you’re awake again,” his mother spoke, “wonderful. I was beginning to think this would be far less satisfying, but now we can begin!” She sounded entirely too gleeful about the whole thing. 

Lilith turned from her son then to address the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen!” she shouted, “It has been brought before me that Prince Descarus has been fraternizing with the enemy. This display is to serve as an example that we of the Winter Court do not take betrayal lightly, and that it will be dealt with swiftly and severely. He will be tortured, and then executed. And to drive the point to other Courts, we have here the fae he was caught with!” she motioned over to the side with a flourish. Descarus’ eyes followed the motion, and he felt his heart twist hard in his chest.

Isdemus was a short distance away, kneeling on the ground, his hands cuffed behind his back and the cuffs chained to the ground behind him. He was keeping his expression perfectly neutral, but his eyes were on Descarus, and he could see it that he was relieved that he was conscious again. Descarus held eye contact with him, only finally breaking it when his mother stepped back closer to him.

“We have here Prince Isdemus, eldest heir of the Autumn Court. He is the one Descarus was caught with. So he shall have to bear witness to this,” the Winter Queen spoke to the crowd again, “now let’s begin this.” She walked back to stand before her son, motioning to a larger male fae closer as well. Descarus instantly recognized him as the fae who was in charge of torture in the Winter Court’s dungeons. 

“Of course. Couldn’t be bothered to soil your own hands on this, could you Mother,” Descarus said, forcing his voice to it’s normal tone, finding speech somewhat difficult because the restricted breathing caused by the damage to his chest.

“It is because I do not have to. Now, I figured we’d start with a lesson. And pain is an excellent teacher. So, based on how old you likely were when this all started, and counting the years of his imprisonment, I estimate that you have been involved with him for approximately 25 years now. So, perhaps one lash for each year will teach you to have relationships with those who are beneath us,” she said to him and then nodded to her torturer. 

The first lash from the whip was unexpected, and he yelped in pain and shock. He felt the cord instantly split the skin on his back upon contact, cutting through his thin shirt like it wasn’t even there. The second and third strikes came in rapid succession, each one cutting into an unmarked section on his back. He managed to swallow his cries on those ones, now that he was expecting them, but the pain was the same as the first. 

By strike ten, he was shaking because of the pain, every muscle in his body completely tense even though he knew tensing would likely make things hurt worse, but he refused to cry out again, not wanting to give them the satisfaction. His jaw hurt from how hard his teeth were clenched, and his chest felt like it was on fire because he held his breath for each strike, and then the air would rush from him just after. Descarus would look to Isdemus every few strikes, and each time, he saw the same neutral expression, but he could read in his eyes that this was agony for him to watch. But he took solace in that neutral expression, trying to draw strength from it.

Isdemus had never felt so helpless in his entire life as he watched strike after strike land on Descarus’ back and shoulders. His shirt was torn and plastered to his skin with blood, and he could see him shaking, his breathing harsh. Isdemus had tried several times now to subtly break free of his bonds, but all he was doing was succeeding in rubbing his wrists raw. But he knew that he couldn’t give Lilith and the crowd the satisfaction of a reaction, so he kept his face perfectly neutral, his eyes never leaving Descarus. He had to be strong for him, knowing the other was likely still terrified as well. It was a sharp cry and a twitch of pain himself that got his attention again while attempting to free himself.

It was on strike 12 that Descarus let another cry of pain rip out of him when the angle of the whip changed, trying to find whole skin to mar, and it managed to land across part of the brand-like mark he’d received from Isdemus at one point that was on the side of his ribs. It had always been sensitive, and so being struck with a whip was worse at that spot than others. He also knew that Isdemus could somewhat feel sensations from it as well, because he had been the one to put it there in the first place. He felt his muscles all release then, and he went limp, the only thing holding him upright were the chained manacles around his wrists.. 

After that, Descarus felt himself slip into a fog of pain, and he lost count of how many strikes had happened already. He could hear a faint whimpering sound, and it took him a few moments to realize it was him that was making that noise. He wasn’t sure when that started, only that he couldn’t get it to stop now. He coughed harshly a few times, knowing that his lungs were filled with fluid since he could feel it trailing out of his mouth with each cough. 

After the final lash of the whip, Lilith approached her son again, tipping his head back with a light push to look into his face. “So, have you learned that Autumn fae are lesser than us? You know, I may have actually spared your life had you been the dominant one of the two. But I know you, and you have never been very capable of leadership, and according to my witness, the sounds he heard are not ones that come from one who is in charge,” she said, making sure she spoke loud enough for all to hear, her eyes full of malice. The way the courtyard was designed was that you didn’t have to speak louder than slightly above normal speaking voice for it to travel the entire space, so that now everyone knew Descarus preferred to be the more passive partner in relationships.

Decarus coughed again, feeling more blood in his mouth. He spat out a large clotted mass of it and glanced at Isdemus, who looked shocked for a moment before his neutral expression was back in place; neither of them had expected her to bring that up. He spit more blood out before he responded. “You know Mother, you are so unsettled by my betrayal and are making quite the spectacle of punishing me, but is betrayal not the very basis of your current position of power over the other Courts? Did you not betray the other Seasonal Courts, killing most of their royal families?” his voice was laced with pain; it was miraculous that he could even speak at all in his current state. 

“And it’s not like I am the only to betray you. Darren has as well, and you did not even hardly blink an eye at him. So this is not really about me betraying the Court, this is about me betraying you,” he said, calling his mother out on exactly what she was doing. 

“For the love of… Descarus. Just. Shut. Up. You are only making this worse by speaking,” Isdemus almost spoke the words out loud when the Queen gave some kind of sign to her torture master, and in just a split second, he fisted his hands, iced them over, and then slammed one of his hardened fists directly into Descarus’ hip, completely shattering it. 

At that, Descarus finally released an actual scream, and Isdemus knew he was going to hear that sound ringing in his ears for the rest of his life as it was practically ripped from his throat, sounding wet from blood. The sound was instantly cut off though when the fae slammed his second fist into the center of Descarus’ lower back, directly over his spine. The force of the blow caused his back to arch, but then it settled again, and Isdemus knew, more out of instinct and memory from his own experiences and witness of torture, that Descarus’ spine was now broken. He watched him go completely limp, his head falling to his chest, and he knew he’d blacked out, only to come back after only a minute or so, or barely at least.

“What have I always told you? Your mouth was going to get you in trouble!” He thought, completely anguished that he couldn’t do anything to stop this or help him. “Queen Lilith!” he called, speaking for the first time since they had left his own court, “I beseech you, you have proven your point. You have broken his spine, lashed his skin to the point of no recognition, what more can you do to him? Please, what would it take for you to release him? I am willing to give you anything. Just release him,” he knew it was more than just a long shot, but he had to try something. 

Descarus roused slightly at the sound of Isdemus’ voice, and he managed to pick his head up to look at the Autumn Prince. He could see his desperation, and he decided to try it as well. “Mother,” his voice was weak, but he tried to make it so he was heard. At least with his spine broken, he could no longer feel his hip as much, but he tried to keep his weight shifted off of it all the same. 

“I can give you Darren,” Descarus managed. He knew this was a low and awful thing to do, but this may be the last chance for him, and his, and likely Isdemus’ survival could be hinging on it. “I can; I know where he is. Isdemus is right, you have proven your point. I can give you Darren, in exchange for myself, or at the very least, Isdemus. I know how you hate him. And he would react so much better than I have…” “I am sorry Brother, but this is my last option now,” Descarus apologized silently. 

His entire offer was contingent on the fact that Lilith would want Darren more than Descarus now that she had taken her rage out on him for being with Isdemus.

He knew he had no such luck when she began to laugh. “Oh no, I promised an execution today, and I keep my promises.” Descarus sagged again at that, only looking up enough to keep eye contact with Isdemus. He could vaguely recall in that moment that before they’d returned from the Autumn Court that he had been asked to just keep his eyes on the other. He was dying, and he knew it. Now, it was only a question of whether his mother would actually execute him, or just wait for him to die slowly, likely from blood loss, as he could still feel blood oozing from the whip lashes. But if he was dying, he wanted Isdemus to be the last thing he saw.

Lilith looked between the two Princes, and saw the intensity that they were looking at each other, and got an idea. She was going to execute one prince anyway, but why not traumatize another in the process? 

“Release him,” she called to a guard, indicating Isdemus. At that, both captives looked up at her in confusion and suspicion, Descarus feeling himself cringe as the quick movement hurt. Everything hurt now. He could barely breathe, blood constantly seeping out of his mouth. He spit out another clotted mess of it. She ignored them and continued. “As I said, this is prove the point of what happens when there are relationships where one should not be, so it is to be you who deals the final blow.” 

“Mama, mama please. I’m sorry! Please, please don’t do this!” It was obvious that he was beyond broken now, even trying to apologize when he’d said not so long ago that he wasn’t sorry for any of it, and for him to actually beg for anything, it was a sign of just how far she had broken him. He didn’t want to leave Isdemus alone to deal with that. But his mother made no reaction whatsoever to his pleas.

Isdemus, once released of his chains, had stood up while rubbing his wrists absently, and was now staring at the Winter Queen in absolute horror. She expected him to be the one to deal the killing blow? “But how can she… I cannot do this! It is Descarus! And he… and I… and I just can’t! There is no possible way...” 

It was Descarus’ voice, nearly drowning in pain, that brought him out of his ranting thoughts. 

“Isdemus, it’s okay… Please… help me…” 

He sounded so broken. Isdemus hated it. It did not suit him, with his voice usually so strong and full of bite. So, he made the decision, and stood tall as he walked over and up the few stairs to the top of the platform, all the while trying his hardest to shut down his emotions. If this was to be the last for them together, he wanted the last thing Descarus felt to be his hands, not a blade or the hands of another Winter fae. He knew he would be faster and far more merciful than anything they would do.

He walked past Lilith, who had stepped back to watch, and kneeled down behind the broken fae. He wrapped his arm around his chest, bringing one hand up to his face as he leaned his head down against the silver hair. “I am so sorry.” Isdemus whispered brokenly, trying to hold back tears now. Descarus turned his head towards Isdemus’ face, a weak smile on his features. 

“It is all right. I promise, it is all right. Please. Isdemus…. Elskede…” He managed to whisper, feeling tears streaming down his face, his heart breaking.

That last word broke him completely. He felt his heart shatter. He reached his other hand up and placed them both on the sides of his head, one near his jaw and the other on his temple. “Shh, okay. It’s okay. I promise it’s okay. My anam cara…”

And with that, he made one swift twisting jerk with his hands, the sound of bone breaking almost echoing in the air around him. 

Descarus was dead in an instant, his neck snapped cleanly by Isdemus’ strong grip.

His body fell limp against Isdemus, who only held him from behind, feeling himself soaked in blood from the whip lashes.

The Autumn Prince really didn’t remember what happened after that, still hearing the sounds of screaming and bone snapping echoing in his head, knowing the word elskede was the last word he spoke, and that anam cara were the last words he heard. 

The broken body was pulled away from him at some point, and he was dragged down into the Winter dungeons, where, once alone, he broke completely.


End file.
